Minor League Schedule and Recaps

Wednesday's Games

DSL Athletics	DSL Astros	9:30 CST
GCL Cardinals	GCL Astros	10:00 CST
Lexington	Hagerstown	4:05 CST MiLB.tv
State College	Tri-City	5:00 CST	Sampson, Adrian (0-0, 9.00)
Johnson City	Greeneville	6:00 CST		Minor, Daniel (0-0, 2.57)
Oklahoma City	New Orleans	6:00 CST MiLB.tv		Martin, J.D. (4-7, 7.15)
Tulsa	Corpus Christi	6:05 CST MiLB.tv	Gardner, Joe (3-5, 4.52)	Cisnero, Jose (5-6, 3.62)
Visalia	Lancaster	9:00 CST	Meo, Anthony (3-4, 3.79)
GCL Cardinals	GCL Astros	Game 2

Tuesday's Results

DSL Athletics over DSL Astros 4-0
Edwin Villarroel (L, 2-1) allowed three runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks over his five innings. The Astros only managed four hits with Randy Cesar and Jarico Reynoso getting two each.

GCL Astros over GCL Marlins 4-0
Edison Frias (W, 2-0), Michael Feliz and Erick Gonzalez combined for a five hit shutout. Darwin Rivera was three-for-five with an RBI; Carlos Correa had the only extra base hit, a double; Yonathan Mejia was two-for-for with an RBI; and Ydarqui Marte had two hits as well.

Greeneville at Kingsport postponed

Asheville over Lexington 2-1
Jonas Dufek got the start but only pitched one inning before the rain came. After the delay, Tommy Shirley (L, 0-1) pitched four as did Mitch Lambson. Lambson was particularly effective, allowing only one hit and no walks with seven strikeouts. But Lexington just never got much of anything going at the plate. Mike Kvasnicka scored the only Lexington run on a wild pitch. Matt Duffy was two-for-four with a double and Justin Gominsky hit a double as well. Delino DeShields got his 58th stolen base.

Tulsa over Corpus Christi over Tulsa 5-1
Jarred Cosart got knocked out of the game after only 4.2 innings in which he gave up four runs on eight hits. He tweeted right after the game about a blister, a problem that sidelined him earlier in the season. Erick Abreu allowed no runs over his 3.1 innings, and Arcenio Leon allowed one in the final frame, but the Hooks never got anything going beyond an RBI single by Jonathan Villar in the third inning. Drew Muren and Jay Fernandez both hit doubles, two of only four hits for the entire Hooks staff for the night.

Oklahoma City over Memphis 11-10 in 10 innings
Starter Aneury Rodriguez allowed seven runs on 10 hits over 4.1 innings. A total of six pitchers were used with Xavier getting charged with a blown save in the ninth and Mickey Storey getting the win in the tenth. Jimmy Paredes (3x5, 2B, 3B), Mike Hessman (1x5, HR, 3RBI), Brett Wallace (3x3, RBI), J.B. Shuck (1x4, 2B, 3RBI), and Carlos Corporan (1x4, 2RBI) all had good nights at the plate, but it was Fernando Martinez' two-run walk off home run that made him the hero of the night.

Modesto over Lancaster 7-6 in 11 innings
Jorge de Leon pitched an effective four innings but a big fifth was his undoing as he allowed five runs on four hits and two walks in six innings. His team bailed him out by tying things up in the ninth. It was Kirk Clark who got charged with the loss in extras. The top of the order did a fine job of hitting with Grant Hogue going two-for-four and scoring three runs; George Springer two-for-four with a double and his 17th home run; Erik Castro three-for-six with two doubles and two RBIs; and Domingo Santana hitting a clutch two out two run single to tie the game in the ninth.

Game of the Day
Tri-City over Lowell 7-2
Juri Perez pitched seven very strong innings and it was a pitcher's duel through the top of the eighth, Lowell scored two runs off reliever Juan Minaya in the bottom of the inning to take the lead. Trailing 2-0 going in to the top of the ninth, it looked likely that the 10-game winning streak wouldn't make it to 11. But then the improbable happened. Two hit batsmen to start the inning followed by three singles and another hit batsman, a sac fly that didn't result in an out due to a fielding error, force out, sac fly, stolen base, single, two more stolen bases, and finally a strikeout = seven runs for Tri-City. Jamaine Cotton, who came in to relieve Minaya in the bottom of the eighth, pitched a very effective ninth for the win.

What went right: Frankly, Andrew Aplin, Dan Gulbransen and Emilio King taking it for the team as they all got hit by pitches really helped set up the win.

What went wrong: 11 strikeouts.

Juri Perez - 7IP 5H 0R 2BB 6SO
Juan Minaya - 0IP 2H 2R 1BB 0SO
Jamaine Cotton (W, 1-0) - 2IP 0H 0R 2BB 0SO

Ryan Dineen - 2x4 2RBI SO R

Player of the Day: Fernando Martinez walk-off bomb anyone? Don't mind if I do.

Pitcher of the Day: Juri Perez kept Lowell from scoring for the first seven innings to give Tri-City the chance to get their 11th straight win.

Minor League Schedule and Recaps

Tuesday's Games

DSL Astros	DSL Athletics	9:30 CST
GCL Astros	GCL Marlins	11:00 CST
Greeneville	Kingsport	6:00 CST	Minor, Daniel (0-0, 2.57)	Reyes, Persio (0-2, 11.42)
Asheville	Lexington	6:05 CST MiLB.tv
Tri-City	Lowell	6:05 CST	Perez, Juri (0-0, 0.00)	Augliera, Mike (0-0, 9.00)
Tulsa	Corpus Christi	7:05 CST MiLB.tv	Hynick, Brandon (0-0, -.--)	Cosart, Jarred (4-4, 3.65)
Memphis	Oklahoma City	7:05 CST MiLB.tv	Gorgen, Scott (0-0, 2.70)	Rodriguez, Aneury (2-7, 6.04)
Lancaster	Modesto	9:05 CST	De Leon, Jorge (1-7, 8.21)	Gomez, Kennil (0-0, 9.00)

Monday's Results

DSL Indians over DSL Astros 2-1 (completed early)
Elieser Hernandez (L, 0-2) got the loss despite allowing only two unearned runs on five hits over six innings. Yoel Silfa didn't help Hernandez out much as his two errors led to the runs being unearned; however, Silfa did his best to make up for his questionable defensive play by getting the only Astros hit of the day and scoring on an error himself.

GCL Marlins over GCL Astros 6-3
Brandon Culbreth (L, 0-2) got mugged early and often as he allowed all six runs over only three innings. Ricardo Batista and Agapito Barrios did a fantastic job out of the bullpen allowing no further runs and only four hits the rest of the way. Brett Phillips has already hit his fifth triple in only 12 games; this is a kid to watch. Darwin Rivera was three-for-four with an RBI, and Teoscar Hernandez was two-for-four.

Kingsport over Greeneville 5-4
Frederick Tiburcio (L, 0-1) had a rough start allowing four runs over only three innings and the Astros were able to match those first four, but not the final run allowed by Michael Dimock in relief. No hitter managed more than one hit and only Ariel Ovando had an extra base hit, a double.

Lexington over Asheville 6-5
Lexington needed this win badly and that's how they ended up getting it, badly. Luis Ordosgoitti pitched a great game through seven, but struggled in the eighth and left the game with a run in, bases juiced and two outs. Enter Dayan Diaz who allowed all three of Ordosgoitti's runners to score and what had been a comfortable 6-1 lead rapidly became a very uncomfortable one run lead. Mercifully Diaz regrouped in the ninth to get three quick outs to ensure the win. Delino DeShields showed off the power with his sixth home run, a two-run shot. Zach Johnson is definitely heating up at the plate as of late and went two-for-four with two doubles and his 66th RBI of the season. Jose Fernandez had a two-run double.

Corpus Christi over Tulsa 5-4
Jake Buchanan wasn't really fooling the hitters last night as he allowed three runs on nine hits in only 4.1 innings of work. Alex Sogard allowed one additional run in his 2.1 innings before Henry Villar and Jason Stoffel (W, 1-1) shut down Tulsa. Tulsa led 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth but a two-run walk off home run by Jonathan Villar (his eighth home run of the season) put a nice exclamation point on the night. The other hero of the night was Jon Singleton. After a rather prolonged slump, his bat woke up with a vengeance last night as he banged out two doubles and a two-run home run.

Oklahoma City over Memphis 7-1
Brett Oberholtzer (W, 2-1) decided to show off for the boss last night as Jeff Luhnow was in attendance. Oberholtzer allowed only one run on six hits over 6.1 innings before handing things over to Mickey Storey and Enerio del Rosario. Oberholtzer also helped himself out at the plate as he got an RBI on a bases loaded walk. Marwin Gonzalez continues to do well in his rehab assignment as he went two-for-two with two RBIs; Mike Hessman had two hits, including his 25th home run, a solo shot; and Brandon Barnes (who is hitting .325 by the way) provided a two RBI single.

Lancaster over Modesto 8-7
Lancaster scored all of their runs by the third inning and led the Nuts 8-2 by the end of the third. After that it was just a matter of hanging on which turned out to be easier said than done. Tyson Perez (W, 6-2) allowed three runs, Brian Streilein allowed another two, and Jose Trinidad allowed yet another two runs and Modesto pulled within one run in the bottom of the seventh. Thankfully Trinidad pitched an effective eighth and Pat Urckfitz (S, 5) pitched an uneventful ninth to seal the deal. The JetHawks jumped all over Nuts starter Juan Gonzalez and forced him out of the game in the second inning. George Springer was four-for-five with a double and two RBIs. Erik Castro and Domingo Santana each contributed two hits and two RBIs. And Chris Epps added an RBI triple to the mix. Grant Hogue was only one-for-four with a walk (but he did manage to steal a base and score three runs) and his batting average plummeted all the way down to .523.

Game of the Day
Tri-City over Lowell 2-0
Brian Holmes, Travis Ballew and Blake Ford combined for a four hit shutout against Lowell. Tri-City only managed five hits, but made them count. Jesse Wierzbicki's lead-off double in the second and Joe Sclafani's lead-off triple in the fifth set the table for Jobduan Morales and Neiko Johnson to drive them in. Tri-City has now won ten games in a row.

What went right: Fantastic pitching and good situational hitting.

What went wrong: Not enough to mention.

Brian Holmes (W, 1-0) - 6IP 2H 0R 2BB 3SO
Travis Ballew - 2IP 1H 0R 1BB 2SO
Blake Ford (S, 6) - 1IP 1H 0R 0BB 0SO

Joe Sclafani - 1x4 3B BB SO R
Neiko Johnson - 1x3 RBI BB
Jesse Wierzbicki - 1x4 2B SO R
Jobduan Morales - 1x3 RBI 2SO

Player of the Day: Four-for-five with two RBIs? Yeah, I think I'll send a little love to George Springer today.

Pitchers of the Day: I have to go with Brian Holmes, Travis Ballew and Blake Ford for the combined four hit shutout. Nicely done, gentlemen!

Minor League Schedule and Recaps

Monday's Games

DSL Astros	DSL Indians	9:30 CST
GCL Marlins	GCL Astros	11:00 CST
Greeneville	Kingsport	6:00 CST	Lee, Christopher (0-0, 10.80)	Matz, Steven (0-1, 3.24)
Asheville	Lexington	6:05 CST MiLB.tv
Tri-City	Lowell	6:05 CST	Holmes, Brian (0-0, 3.00)	Cuevas, William (0-0, 0.00)
Tulsa	Corpus Christi	7:05 CST MiLB.tv	Riordan, Cory (3-2, 4.02)
Memphis	Oklahoma City	7:05 CST MiLB.tv	Miller, Shelby (4-6, 5.70)	Oberholtzer, Brett (1-1, 8.36)
Lancaster	Modesto	9:05 CST	Perez, Tyson (5-2, 5.55)	Gonzalez, Juan (4-9, 5.90)

Sunday's Results

Tri-City over Lowell 6-3
Tri-City has now won nine in a row. This one was a bit closer, but they still never trailed. Aaron West allowed two runs over 4.2 innings. Jeremiah Meiners allowed one run in 2.1 innings of relief, but got the win, and Blake Ford got his fifth save of the short season and still has a 0.00 ERA. Jobduan Morales hit his second home run in as many nights; Andrew Aplin had a triple; and Dan Gulbransen, Ryan Dineen, Morales and Joe Sclafani all had multi-hit games.

Asheville over Lexington 10-7
The bad news is that Asheville has won three in a row over Lexington. The worse news is that it's a five game series. Starter Luis Cruz allowed two runs in his five innings of work, and Lexington was up 6-2 through six. Then two of their best relievers had a meltdown. Evan Grills and Murilo Gouvea (L, 2-4) combined to allow seven runs in only three innings. Delino DeShields was three-for-four and is now hitting .275, .333 over his last ten games. Roberto Pena had four RBIs including a three-run home run. Chan Moon was two-for-four with a double.

Oklahoma City over Memphis 6-2
Armando Galarraga (W, 2-1) had a nice start as he allowed only two runs on seven hits over six innings, and Xavier Cedeno and Hector Ambriz provided scoreless relief, which was literally a relief after OKC allowed 20 runs last night. Marwin Gonzalez was two-for-three with a solo home run in his rehab appearance. Jimmy Paredes was two-for-four and Brett Wallace was two-for-three as he waits patiently for a big, fat bloated first baseman contract to get out of his way. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to happen anytime soon.

Northwest Arkansas over Corpus Christi 2-1
Ross Seaton had a beautiful outing, allowing only two runs on six hits over seven innings but still got pegged with the loss as the Hooks were only able to scrape across four hits and one run on a Chris Wallace home run. Josh Zeid was reportedly dialing it up a notch in his relief outing as he allowed one hit and struck out two. Kevin Chapman also provided a scoreless inning.

Lancaster over Modesto 3-1
Nick Tropeano had a fantastic first start for Lancaster as he allowed only one unearned run on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts in eight innings of work. Andrew Robinson closed it out in the ninth with no hits and two strikeouts for his fifth save. The JetHawks were held to four hits. Thankfully, two of them were home runs - a two-run shot by Domingo Santana in the first and a solo homer by George Springer (his 16th) to add insurance in the ninth.

Game of the Day
Greeneville over Kingsport 12-0
Starting pitcher Francis Ramirez walked more batters than I would like, but he got away with it as he didn't allow a run over his six innings. As a matter of fact, he only allowed two hits and the bullpen only allowed one hit for a combined three-hit shutout. Greeneville had three big innings as they hit well with runners on base. D'Andre Toney, Ernesto Genoves and Ariel Ovando all hit two run doubles, and Jimmy Howick hit a two run home run.

What went right: Hitting with runners in scoring position and really good pitching.

What went wrong: Quite frankly, one caught stealing and one wild pitch is not worth mentioning, so I won't.

Francis Ramirez (W, 2-0) - 6IP 2H 0R 5BB 7SO
Zachary Hardoin - 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0SO
Andrew Walter - 1IP 1H 0R 1BB 0SO
Euris Quezada - 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 0SO

D'Andre Toney - 2x4 2B 2RBI BB SO
Ernesto Genoves - 1x3 2B 2RBI BB SO R
Ariel Ovando - 1x4 2B 2RBI BB SO 2R
Jimmy Howick - 1x4 HR 3RBI 2R
Jose Monzon - 2x3 BB SO 2R

Player of the Day: Roberto Pena has always been a good catcher and defensive player. If he really puts it together as a hitter as he appears to be doing, he will indeed be the whole package.

Pitcher of the Day: Nick Tropeano just proved in his first start for Lancaster that his promotion was absolutely justified.

Minor League Schedule and Recaps

[Note: If you're reading this from RSS, you may have missed the standings I put on the front page. As of this morning, seven of eight Astros minor league affiliates are at .500 or better. Corpus Christi is now tied for first place in the overall standings while lagging by only one game behind the Missions in the second half race.]

Sunday's Games

Asheville	Lexington	12:35 CST MiLB.tv	Winkler, Daniel (8-5, 4.75)
Greeneville	Kingsport	4:00 CST	Ramirez, Francis (1-0, 5.14)	Morris, Akeel (0-2, 10.29)
Tri-City	Lowell	4:05 CST	West, Aaron (1-0, 0.00)	Velette, Raynel (1-1, 4.35)
NW Arkansas	Corpus Christi	6:05 CST MiLB.tv	Marimon, Sugar Ray (0-0, 1.50)	Cosart, Jarred (4-4, 3.65)
Memphis	Oklahoma City	6:05 CST MiLB.tv	Lyons, Tyler (0-2, 7.47)	Galarraga, Armando (1-1, 2.16)
Lancaster	Modesto	8:05 CST	Tropeano, Nick (0-0, -.--)

Saturday's Results

DSL Astros over DSL Indians 3-2
Juan Hernandez gave up two runs in his five inning start, but Javier Saucedo got the win in relief as the Astros scored late. Randy Cesar (3x4), Jarico Reynoso (2x3, 3B), and Frederick Serrano (2x4, 2B) all had good days at the plate. The winning run came in courtesy of an Arturo Michelina walk-off single.

GCL Astros over GCL Nationals 3-2
Michael Feliz (W, 2-0) didn't get the start but did the heavy lifting, pitching six innings and allowing two runs. Erick Gonzalez got his third save of the season. Franny Polanco was three-for-three with two RBIs; Wallace Gonzalez was two-for-three with a double and a triple; and Darwin Rivera hit a solo home run.

Tri-City over Connecticut 14-5
Tri-City has now won eight in a row and they completely dominated Connecticut, leading from the first inning on and putting up three four-run innings. And I'm sure that starting pitcher Vincent Velasquez couldn't have been happier. Velasquez earned his second win, as he allowed one run on six hits with two walks and seven strikeouts over six innings. Relievers Brad Propst and Jamaine Cotton each allowed two runs. Big nights at the plate for Austin Elkins (3x4, 2R), Dan Gulbransen (3x3, 2B, HR, 5RBI, 2BB, 2R), Jesse Wierzbicki (2x4, BB, 2R); Joe Sclafini (2x4, 2RBI); and Jobduan Morales with a grand slam.

Asheville over Lexington 13-8
A seven-run seventh inning by Asheville was the nail in Lexington's coffin. Mike Foltynewicz (L, 9-2) had a rare subpar outing in his first loss since his first start of the season as he allowed six runs (five earned) over his six innings. Nate Pettus only managed to get one out in the seventh while allowing seven runs. He was quickly bailed out by Mitch Lambson in his first appearance since his promotion to Lexington. Luis Alvarez, a catcher, also pitched an inning and allowed no hits or runs. Matt Duffy was three-for-five with three RBIs; Justin Gominsky had two doubles; Roberto Pena was two-for-five with two runs; Ruben Sosa got two runs in his first appearance for Lexington; and Delino DeShields stole three bases to increase his season total to 57.


Memphis over Oklahoma City 20-6
Apparently, the Redhawks heard about Lexington having a catcher pitch in their game, so they decided to have a left fielder pitch in theirs! After a complete implosion by the OKC pitching staff, left fielder J.B. Shuck came in with one on and no outs, induced a double play and a ground out and got out of the inning unscathed. Which is more than can be said for OKC's other pitchers for the night. Brian Bass was charged with the loss after allowing six runs (one earned) over 4.2 innings. Brandon Barnes, Mike Hessman and J.B. Shuck were all two-for-five, with Barnes and Hessman hitting home runs.

Corpus Christi over Northwest Arkansas 13-7
The Hooks were gifted with lots of hits and lots of walks allowed by the opposing pitchers. As a matter of fact, four of the Hooks runs scored via the bases loaded walk. Really, that happened. Bobby Doran got his second win in as many starts for the Hooks as he put up a quality start. There were too many terrific hitting performances to list them all, but Austin Wates' three hits, and Jose Martinez' five RBIs and home run stood out.

Lancaster over Rancho Cucamonga 8-7
Lancaster struck early and hung on late. It looked as though this might be another one of "those" nights for Lancaster as starter Zach Grimmett (W, 3-5) gave up two in the top of the first, but he settled down nicely and allowed only two more runs over his next five. In the meantime the JetHawks bats went to work and chased out Rancho Cucamonga starter Angel Sanchez after only 2.2 innings as Lancaster scored all eight of their runs in the first three innings. Kirk Clark made it a bit more interesting than I would have liked by allowing three runs in relief to make it a one-run game, but Andrew Robinson nailed it down with his fifth save. Offensively, it was the Grant Hogue show as he went four-for-four with a triple, RBI, walk and scored three runs. Hogue is now hitting .611 for the JetHawks in 13 games. Kike Hernandez (two-for-three with a triple) and Domingo Santana (two-for-four with an RBI) also had good nights.

Game of the Day
Greeneville over Danville 13-4
This was a nice comeback for Greeneville after the 17-inning loss in their previous outing. The Astros led from the second inning on as the bats broke out in a big way. Richard Rodriguez earned his second win of the season. Jose Monzon provided some excitement with a three-run inside the park home run.

What went right: Hitting and lots of it.

What went wrong: 0-fer from Brian Blasik, lowering his batting average all the way down to .372.

Richard Rodriguez (W, 2-0) - 6IP 6H 2R 2BB 9SO
Scott Zuloaga - 2IP 4H 2R 0BB 2SO
Jordan Jankowski - 1IP 0H 0R 0BB 1SO

Ernesto Genoves - 3x5 2-2B RBI 2R
Mike Martinez - 2x3 HR 2RBI 2R
Ariel Ovando - 3x5 RBI SO 2R
Angel Ibanez - 2x4 RBI SO 2R
Jose Monzon - 3x4 HR 4RBI R
Jean Batista - 1x5 HR 2RBI R

Players of the Day: There were too many terrific performances to chose from. Let's let Dan Gulbransen's five RBIs, Jose Martinez' five RBIs, Jose Monzon's inside the park home run; Jobduan Morales' grand slam; and Grant Hogue's four-for-four night all share in the glory.

Pitchers of the Day: Vincent Velasquez edges out Richard Rodriguez, but J.B. Shuck and Luis Alvarez should also get honorable mention.

Minor League Schedule and Recaps

Saturday's Schedule

DSL Indians	DSL Astros	9:30 CST
GCL Nationals	GCL Astros	11:00 CST
Danville	Greeneville	5:00 CST		Rodriguez, Richard (1-0, 2.45)
Connecticut	Tri-City	6:00 CST	Robertson, Montreal (0-0, 1.69)	Velasquez, Vincent (1-0, 1.93)
Asheville	Lexington	6:05 CST MiLB.tv	Jensen, Chris (7-2, 4.54)
NW Arkansas	Corpus Christi	7:05 CST MiLB.tv	Arguelles, Noel (2-7, 6.12)	Doran, Bobby (1-0, 9.00)
Memphis	Oklahoma City	7:05 CST MiLB.tv	Gast, John (4-2, 5.67)	Bass, Brian (1-2, 4.41)
Rancho Cucamonga	Lancaster	9:00 CST	Sanchez, Angel (6-3, 4.86)	Grimmett, Zachary (2-5, 7.76)

Friday's Results

DSL Rays over DSL Astros 5-4
Samil de los Santos pitched a solid start for the Astros, and they led this one until Frangy Colon (L, 0-2) allowed three runs in relief in the eighth. Pedro Coa was two-for-four with his first home run of the season.

GCL Astros over GCL Nationls 8-2
Chia-Jen Lo stretched it out to two innings in this outing and still has a 0.00 ERA. Enderson Franco got his first win with a five inning relief outing allowing two runs on six hits and Rodney Quintero provided two scoreless final innings. The Astros took the lead in the first and never looked back. There were several good offensive performances, including Carlos Correa (2x5, 2-2B, RBI), Brett Phillips (2x5, 2-3B, 2R), and Darwin Rivera (2x5, 2-2B, RBI, 2R).

Danville over Greeneville 6-2 in 17 innings
I hope that Richard Rodriguez is well rested because as the probable starter in today's game, he may be asked to stretch it out after seven Greeneville pitchers were used in this 17 inning marathon on Friday. Adrian Houser had a beautiful start, pitching six innings with three hits, no runs, no walks and eight strikeouts. But the Danville pitchers were dealing as well. Tied at 0-0 through eight, both teams scored one run in the ninth to force extra innings. The teams again exchanged runs in the 16th inning, and finally in the 17th Tanner Bushue allowed four unearned runs (due to a Jean Batista throwing error with two outs) for the loss and that was that. I think I can safely say that Michael Dimock and Zach Dando will not be available for today's game after combining for seven innings of relief. Brian Blasik continues to shine for Greeneville as he was three-for-seven and drove in a run. Jean Batista collected three errors.

Tri-City over Connecticut 5-2
And now it is seven wins in a row for Tri-City. Brady Rodgers allowed two runs (one earned) on seven hits and no walks with seven strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work. Four pitchers combined to provide scoreless relief with Blake Ford earning his fourth save. Tyler Heinemen had a successful two-for-two debut; Jesse Wierzbicki was two-for-three with an RBI; and Andrew Aplin continues to impress as he went two-for-three with a double, RBI and scored two runs.

Asheville over Lexington 4-3
In a rare spot start, Carlos Quevedo allowed three runs in only 2.1 innings and was charged with the loss. Tommy Shirley got his first work as a Legend, allowing one run on four hits in 3.1 innings. Gabriel Garcia took it the rest of the way with scoreless relief. Lexington trailed from the start and could never quite get that big hit they needed. It was good to see Zach Johnson with a three-for-four night with two doubles as he has been in a bit of a slump as of late. Justin Gominsky drove in two runs with a double.

Iowa over Oklahoma City 7-0
Paul Clemens (L, 8-7) allowed five runs over only 5.1 innings for the loss. The Redhawks were held to five hits. Jimmy Paredes was two-for-three with a triple and a walk.

Rancho Cucamonga over Lancaster 8-7
David Martinez allowed five runs (four earned) on eight hits over six innings which was enough to keep Lancaster in the game until Pat Urckfitz allowed three runs for his second loss and second blown save of the season. Rafy Valenzuela had a nice two-for-five night with his second home run of the season. George Springer and Chris Epps were both two-for-four. Telvin Nash was hit in the nose by a foul ball in the dugout and taken to the hospital. According to Jason Schwartz, he is day-to-day.

Game of the Day
Corpus over Northwest Arkansas 3-1
Nothing really exciting about this game, just a good solid team win. Jose Cisnero allowed only one run in six innings. Henry Villar and Jason Stoffel provided scoreless relief. Kody Hinze had a nice night, going two-for-two with two walks, but it was Andy Simunic who drove in two of the runs via an RBI double and an RBI single.

What went right: Solid pitching and Andy Simunic's bat.

What went wrong: 0-fers from Austin Wates and Jose Martinez. Frankly, I'm just happy to have Austin back in the line-up and off the DL.

Jose Cisnero (W, 5-6) - 6IP 8H 1R 2BB 5SO
Henry Villar - 2IP 0H 0R 0BB 2SO
Jason Stoffel (S, 12) - 1IP 1H 0R 0BB 2SO

Kody Hinze - 2x2 2B 2BB R
Andy Simunic - 2x4 2B 2RBI
Jay Fernandez - 1x4 RBI

Player of the Day: I think you have to go with the guy who hits two triples in one game. Who does that? Brett Phillips it is!

Pitcher of the Day: Adrian Houser really had a terrific bounceback performance after the last one didn't go so well. I'm as impressed by the zero walks as I am by the eight strikeouts.

Minor League Schedule and Recaps

Friday's Games

DSL Astros	DSL Rays	9:30 CST
GCL Astros	GCL Nationals	11:00 CST
Danville	Greeneville	6:00 CST		Houser, Adrian (0-2, 6.75)
Connecticut	Tri-City	6:00 CST
Asheville	Lexington	6:05 CST MiLB.tv
NW Arkansas	Corpus Christi	7:05 CST MiLB.tv	Dwyer, Chris (5-6, 5.24)	Cisnero, Jose (4-6, 3.79)
Oklahoma City	Iowa	7:05 CST MiLB.tv	Clemens, Paul (8-6, 6.19)	Lopez, Rodrigo (1-3, 4.50)
Rancho Cucamonga	Lancaster	9:00 pm	Gould, Garrett (1-6, 5.13)	Martinez, David (2-3, 5.54)

Thursday's Results

DSL Astros over DSL Rays 11-4
I get to say something I haven't gotten to say about the DSL much yet this season - nice game! Johan Arias (W, 1-2) allowed two runs on seven hits over seven innings. Luis Reynosa (3x4, 3R), Yoel Silfa (3x5, 2-2B, 4RBI) and Pedro Coa (3x4, 2B) all had particularly fine outings at the plate.

GCL Marlins over GCL Astros 7-6 (Game 1)
The pitching was pretty bad in this one, but the offense did a pretty good job scraping across six runs on only four hits thanks in large part to poor play by the Marlins. Carlos Correa had the only extra base hit, a double. Kyle Redinger drove in two runs. Wallace Gonzalez stole home.

GCL Marlins over GCL Astros 3-1 (Game 2)
Andrew Walter and Alan Abreu had the best pitching outings with runless, hitless frames. Brett Phillips was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle.

Greeneville over Danville 5-2
Daniel Minor had a decent outing allowing two runs on six hits over four, but Mitch Lambson (W, 1-0) and Mike Hauschiled (S, 2) had outstanding relief performances. Mike Martinez hit a solo home run; Jimmy Howick was two-for-three with an RBI; and Jean Batista was one-for-four with an RBI.

Tri-City over Connecticut 5-2
And Tri-City just keeps winning with their sixth victory in a row. Joe Bircher had a good, albeit short (4IP) outing, followed by four scoreless innings from Juan Minaya (W, 1-1). Blake Ford pitched the ninth for his third save. Connecticut took the early lead but Tri-City came back in the sixth to take the lead and stayed there. Tri-City only had four hits but took advantage of poor play by the Connecticut team to supplement their sparse offensive output. Dan Gulbransen contributed an RBI triple and Austin Elkins, an RBI double.

Oklahoma City over Iowa 3-1
Aneury Rodriguez had a strong start, allowing only one run on eight hits over five innings, but it was Sergio Perez (W, 2-1) who got the win in relief with Mickey Storey getting his first save of the season. No fireworks in this one as the Redhawks only managed seven singles and an Angel Sanchez double. Jimmy Paredes had the only multi-hit game of the evening as he went two-for-four with an RBI.

Lancaster over Rancho Cucamonga 10-3
The bad news is that Lancaster is having more pitching woes as last night's probable starter, RJ Alaniz, was placed on the DL with shoulder soreness. The good news is that: a) Nick Tropeano is on the way from Lexington to join the Lancaster staff, and b) Jose Trinidad (W, 7-3) did a terrific job in a spot start in place of Alaniz last night, pitching seven shutout innings. George Springer was three-for-five with an RBI; Domingo Santana was two-for-four with a double and an RBI; and Jonathan Meyer was two-for-five with an RBI. Erik Castro hit his 11th home run for two RBIs and Telvin Nash struck out four times before hitting his 21st home run of the season.

Texas League North All-Stars over South All-Stars 3-1
Performances from Hooks players who made the All-Star team were mixed. The only position player to reach base was Jon Singleton with a walk. Ross Seaton gave up all three North runs in his one inning of work and was charged with the loss. But Jarred Cosart pitched a perfect inning, and Jason Stoffel and Kevin Chapman allowed one hit each with no runs.


Game of the Day
Lexington over Greensboro 11-8
Lexington really needed this one to right the ship after three straight losses. Jonas Dufek, who has been quite reliable for the Legends with four straight wins, had a rare bad outing, but Evan Grills (W, 3-1) pitched a terrific 3.2 innings and kept Greensboro at bay until the Legends hitters put up a six spot in the sixth to get back in the game. Two players that we need to see do well did do well. Jay Austin had a terrific night going four-for-five with two RBIs and he appears to be doing just fine since coming back from a hand injury. Brandon Meredith, three-for-six with two RBIs, has also started heating up and has now hit .359 over his last 10 games. Delino DeShields stole three bases to bring his season total to 54.

What went right: Good relief from Grills, Murilo Gouvea and Dayan Diaz kept the door open for the Legends to come back in a big way.

What went wrong: Justin Gominsky got a rude welcome back to Lexington as he went hitless in five at-bats.

Jonas Dufek - 1.2IP 9H 7R/6ER 0BB 2SO 1HR
Evan Grills - 3.2IP 5H 1R 1BB 1SO
Murilo Gouvea - 2.2IP 1H 0R 1BB 1SO
Dayan Diaz (S, 9) - 1IP 2H 0R 0BB 1SO

Delino DeShields - 2x4 2B BB 3R 3SB
Jordan Scott - 1x4 2B 2RBI BB R
Zach Johnson - 1x3 3BB 2R
Matt Duffy - 1x5 2B 2RBI SO
Jay Austin - 4x5 2B 2RBI BB R
Brandon Meredith - 3x6 2B 2RBI BB R
Roberto Pena - 2x6 RBI SO
Chan Moon - 1x3 3B RBI 2BB 2R SB

Player of the Day: Jay Austin gets the nod for his four-for-five night and for his success as he comes back from a hand injury suffered in spring training. He is now hitting .289/.400/.368.

Pitcher of the Day: Jose Trinidad came in for only his third start of the season on short notice and pitched seven shutout innings with one walk and two strikeouts. His ERA, after 24 appearances is 1.95.